Week9- Impression of week8

We learned about linked-list this week, and I have a few comments to make about this topic.

Conceptually speaking, I believe linked-list is quiet straight forward. Every list has a value, and a link to point at the list after. Every list also has a front, a back, and a size, as long as the linked list is not None.

However, when we work with linked-list, it becomes extremely hard. This is because there are always too many things to consider. For instance, if I were to add a node before the back of the linked list, I have to remember what is the node before the node that I plan to add, link that with the node that I add, and link the node that I add with the back node. This is just one mere example to demonstrate how easy it is to make a mistake with linked list.It's okay if we write t he linked-list on a computer, as we can always correct a mistake if we make one. But in exam times linked-list will be a killer. Because given the time constrain and the pressure students have during exam time, it may be extremely easy for students to mess up linked list.

After Identifying the difficulty associated with linked list, I began to train myself to cope with this concept. The way I deal with linked-list is always to draw a picture before I solve a Linked-list problem. I also write down the back, the front, and the current node of the Linked-list on a piece of paper, and to track them and see if their position makes sense after my function runs. This method extremely decreases my chance of making a mistake with linked list, and is actually not that consuming which makes it useful under the exam setting.

Conclusion for week 8 is that Linked-list is a fair concept, but students must be very careful with it due to the complexity nature of Linked-list and the easiness to make a mistake while working on it.